Tails the Dimensional Hopper
by TheCape
Summary: After busting up Robotnik's newest invention, Tails finds himself somewhere where nothing is quite right. This Mobius has no Robotnik, no Sonic, yet there is still a tyrant. The Freedom Fighters are scattered and some friends have joined the side of this ruler. Now Tails is searching for a way home, hoping he lives long enough to find out the madness that plagues this Mobius.
1. That Moment in Time

**A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome back to what I hope is a revival of something that could have been good, but was ultimately shafted due to immaturity and overall stupidity. Having said that, I would like to warn the reader that there will be violent and possibly sexual content. If you are someone who might not like to see this, there is no shame in clicking away and finding something more enjoyable. Enjoy.**

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Chapter One: That Moment in Time

Dim lighting lit the old streets of Robotropolis, the streets empty as the original inhabitants abandoned this place to the robots, roboticizers, and a large, lumpy tyrant who had plastered his face among the walls, terrorized the people, and had threatened to cover the world in a cloud of dark smoke, all from his factories.

Tonight, this was no longer true. The Freedom Fighters, led by no other than Sally Acorn, had been constantly taking the fight to them. For every skirmish, there was always a victory in their favor. Their carnage had disrupted production, cut a swathe through Robotnik's numbers such that would've taken from minutes to hours to replace the damage done would now take days, weeks, months, even.

As for Robotnik, the grand tyrant that overthrew the king. He was trapped, pinned under one of his own creations in a derelict construction site, his only lighting being the lights from his own defunct robot and the lights strung along the powerlines above him. Everything below his waistline refused to work for him, as it's been shattered and rendered useless. For Robotnik, there was no second tries, no last minute changes of fate, no get out of jail free cards. His minute was numbered, gradually counting down by the second, like sands in an hourglass.

Out of the darkness came a pair of shining blue eyes, the eyes bloodshot and the look of what was a naïve fox, now pure hatred in them. The light slowly revealed the features of Miles "Tails" Prower, the kid of the Freedom Fighters and technological genius sidekick of Sonic the Hedgehog. He was dirty, his fur covered in oil, grime, and dirt, parts of his body were wrapped in bandages. He held a cinderblock in his hands, carrying it with all his strength as he sat it down next to Robotnik's head.

Robotnik dared not move, not even speak, for he knew what he was in for.

"Do you have any idea, **who I am?"** Tails demanded.

"Yo-you're..." Robotik began to answer, finding it hard to do so as the lower half of his body made it hard for him.

"I am Miles Prower, but you can call me Tails." Tails answered for him, flexing his fingers and popping his knuckles.

Tails squatted down to Robotnik, his bloodshot eyes becoming noticeable to the tyrant, and the smell of oil clogging his nose.

"Two months ago…" Tails began. "Two months ago, you fought Sonic and won, **correct?** "

Robotnik tried to answer once more to the kitsune with his best ability to do so, but was abruptly cut off once more.

"Your machine, your Eraser, or whatever you called it." Tails continued, barely contained rage threatening to coming through, "You used your machine to take my Sonic, **OUR** Sonic, away from us! Your actions have caused more distraught for the Freedom Fighters, and the citizens of Knothole, than all of your acts of cruelty combined! How do you stand on your multiple charges of murder, genocide and mayhem?"

While the blubbery titan was silent at first, he slowly descended into laughter. The expression that formed on Tails' face was not one of fear or worry, but one of murderous intent.

"All of this for a fallen idol?" Robotnik laughed, not even caring for Tails' expression, "I must say, you weak little fox, you had me fooled for a moment-mmm!"

Tails had his shoe pressing down on Robotnik's mouth, shutting him up as he kicked. He pulled his shoe back to find that Robotnik was now missing some teeth, blood seeping as he spat. The kitsune eyed the cinderblock as he reached to grab it, using all of his strength he hoisted it over his head. He positioned himself above the fat dictator as he looked down at him.

"I, Miles Prower, Freedom Fighter and wronged fox…" Tails spoke, his lines sounding rehearsed multiple times over. "For your crimes against the Acorn crown, Mobotropolis, Knothole, and all free Mobians of the world, I sentence you to _**death!"**_

" **Wait!"** Robotnik pleaded, "Please, I will repent for my crimes!"

In one last movement, Tails moved his arms as far back as they could go, before bringing the cinderblock down onto Robotnik's head. The time for talk was over, and Tails cemented it as the cinderblock crashed down onto Robotnik's head, killing him instantly. He took a breath as some blood splattered onto his legs. He tried to calm himself down, tried to do relaxing techniques, trying to find another emotion but hate.

And yet, he could only find himself filling with even more hatred, fit to destroy entire worlds.

* * *

 _Meanwhile on Mobius Prime._

"Watch out, Sonic!" Tails shouted.

The blue blur had a moment to turn around as he saw his two tailed partner wrestle a swatbot looking for a cheap shot on the back of his head. While it wasn't all too effective, he gave Sonic plenty of time to run straight through it, destroying it instantly. He brushed off the debris as he gave his signature thumbs up.

"Thanks, buddy!" Sonic exclaimed as he dropped his thumbs up, "We certainly smashed those robots, didn't we?"

Tails nodded in agreement as he adjusted the tool belt around his waist, his tools ranging from two different screwdrivers, one cordless nail gun, and a wrench. While it might seem silly, especially to Sonic, he never would know when you needed something dismantled in a quiet fashion. Tails himself was showing signs of getting older too. His fur was getting brighter, and he was starting to shed his fur. While Doctor Quack says that it's just a sign of the seasons changing, it should be noted that the good doctor was good for patching up minor injuries and being able to keep patients in medical beds for when they had serious injuries if he didn't have what he needed for long term care. Still, he was a doctor and physician to the royal family, so maybe he wasn't entirely wrong.

Sonic wiped his gloved hands free of any dirt on his knees as he looked around that both he and his sidekick caused.

"Well, that certainly takes care of the distraction." Sonic noted, "Now, time to cruise on down to Robotropolis, join up with Sal, and-!"

A blue beam of energy fired past them, barely missing them both as it cut straight through the forest behind the duo. The sound of trees falling behind them. They both turned as they saw something new, something bizarre. Robotnik was in a strange new creation, a bulky robot with the shape of a rhino beetle. On its front there was what appeared to be floodlights being directed into a glass of sorts, which must explain why it's able to cut down the trees with nothing more but the power of sheer blue light. Beneath the glass Robotnik was found in the back of the new robot, being protected in his signature pod, glass covering him entirely.

"Welcome, to your doom, filthy animals!" Robotnik taunted, his voice coming through speakers, "Behold, the Eraser Beetle! One blast will vaporize will disintegrate any and all in its path! After I'm done with you, I'll use it and level **ALL** of Knothole to the ground!"

The duo taken rather aback at the display of power, and the man that wanted to use it. Their time was cut short as the Eraser Beetle was firing on them once more, causing them to scramble out of the way as they ran and flew respectively.

"Sonic, we can't dodge that thing forever!" Tails exclaimed, "Whatever shall we do?"

"I got a plan!" Sonic answered, "I'm going to take this beetle all the way to smash city!"

Sonic changed courses as he made a beeline for the Beetle, jumping up as he homed in on his target. Robotnik moved the mirrors accordingly as the machine began to charge up.

 **That machine was about to vaporize the hedgehog.**

"Sonic, no!" Tails yelled, kicking his flight into overdrive.

It wasn't too late, Tails pushed himself enough that he managed to catch Sonic just in time before that beam went off, saving his life, though neither could say the same for anything that was in the way above them when the light fired.

"Tails, you… you saved me." Sonic whispered, sighing in relief as he pulled his buddy in for a hug.

The moment was short lived as they went dashing again, avoiding the Eraser's light.

"We have to hit those lights, Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, "We hit those, the Beetle can't charge that fast!"

"Those lights? Leave it to me!" Sonic replied, dashing off again.

The blue blur began going as fast as feet as his feet would take him, jumping up and over the Beetle as he tried his best to distract Robotnik. Tails meanwhile got his propellers going as he flew close to where the lights are, getting his wrench out as he started smacking at whatever he could on the lights, the sound of glass shattering.

"You little pest!" Robotnik threatened, "I will smash you!"

"Only in your wildest dreams, Robuttnik!" Tails retorted.

There was a brief moment of silence, before the roaring of the tyrannical fat man came from the speakers.

" **I will have your head!"** Robotnik howled.

The Eraser began to do a full spin in an attempt to knock Tails off. The kitsune was holding on for dear life, but to no avail. He ripped the damage set of lights with him as he was flung from the Beetle, tumbling as glass was being thrown everywhere.

"Ow…" Tails winced, getting back to his feet, "Guess Bunnie wasn't lying about rodeos, after all."

The Beetle came to a stop as it attempted to charge up again, but it was no use, one of the lights were missing and the directional glass was out of place, it was taking longer for him to get a full charge, and if Tails' mind was working on the solution, it would take much longer now. From behind the charge of light, the kitsune could spot something glowing, something green.

 **It was a Chaos Emerald!**

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, "This machine is being powered by a Chaos Emerald!"

"A Chaos Emerald?!" Sonic replied, absolutely flabbergasted, "What are we gonna do, man?!"

"You keep him from moving, I'm going in!" Tails answered, readying his wrench as he dashed in.

Sonic nodded as he began to pepper the outside hull with attacks, hoping to damage the wheels and keep it from spinning while Tails did his work. The kitsune smashed through the tuning glass as he got to work. He attempted to smash the glass and pull it out, but it was no use, it was much tougher than the lights and the precision glass.

" _Crap."_ Tails thought to himself, _"This isn't going to be easy. I got about… thirty seconds? Let's do it then._ "

Tails cleared his mind as he got to work, working on the bolts around the protective glass, his pulling in the direction he needed to loosen them up.

"What are you doing?!" Robotnik demanded, "Don't do that, you'll kill us all!"

Tails ignored the warnings as he continued to work, about three bolts were gone, and now finishing on the last one. The case was so ready to come off, it was like tasting a pile of mint candy to the kitsune. The glow behind him began to get gradually stronger, nearly blinding even.

"To Chaos with this!" Robotnik exclaimed.

The weight of the Eraser shifted as Robotnik ejected from the machine, flying as far and as fast as he could in his Egg Mobile before things get hairy.

Tails reached in as he ripped out the Chaos Emerald, holding the glittering green trophy in his hands triumphantly.

"I did it, Sonic!" Tails shouted, his voice filled with pride.

 **And yet, the Beetle didn't stop glowing.**

"Tails, get away from that thing!" Sonic demanded.

"What..?" Tails replied, looking.

Before Tails could have a moment to react, the area around the kitsune exploded in blue energy, everything around the area ripped and gone.

There was no trace of Tails, save for his tool belt and his wrench, and the Chaos Emerald, which now laid on the ground.

Both the kitsune and the Eraser were gone.

"Tails..?" Sonic whispered.

* * *

 **Well, how's that for a plot? Thank you for reading along, I intend to update this as soon as I possibly can, however I do not want to give you a false sense that you'll have a new chapter every week. Having said that, I will update in my free time, and hope to give you** **consistent** **quality as I continue this story.**

 **Edit: I forgot to include that the Chaos Emerald was also dropped. Also fixed some errors.**

 **Have a good day/afternoon/evening/night.**


	2. Escape from Foxotropolis

**Hello all, and welcome back to another chapter of this story of ours. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Two: Escape from Foxotropolis

 _Meanwhile, after an unspecifiable amount of time, in the moments of a different Mobius…_

In the throne room of Castle Acorn, all objects and symbols of the Acorn family have been cast out, burned and destroyed, with new symbols of power in their place. Behind the throne existed a new, rugged banner. A dark orange banner that had two fox tails coiled around one another, an outlined shield housing the namesakes.

In the throne made from wood and scrapped iron sat this Mobius' version of Tails, his arms crossed and a crown being held on his head by one of his ears as it dangled off of his head. His eyes were no longer bloodshot as they were before, but they still held the same look of rage, dying to break free from its confines and become known. To his right existed a black and red hedgehog in what looked like a knight in dull armor, however it had some sort of high tech look to it, looking sleek and smooth to the eyes. In his hand he held a pike at least twice as long as his height, with the non-bladed end planted firmly on the ground. Other Mobian knights wearing this armor made a line along the long red carpet that came from a pair of giant doors.

As the king kitsune sat in his throne, being entertained by the court jester who desperately did not want to make his liege mad, he was approached by a new figure as the large doors in the room came open, a skunk in purple boots, beret and utility belt came in as he stopped near the jester. He kneeled on one knee before his king.

"My king." Geoffrey spoke, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but Nicole detected something from FoxEye. A Chaos Disruption."

The ears of the fox perked as he sat up in his throne, eyeing the jester.

"Begone." this Mobius' Tails commanded.

The court jester quickly made himself scarce as he left the throne room.

"So, a Chaos Disruption." this Tails continued, "So, FoxEye finally does it job. What do we know?"

"Not much, my lord." Geoffrey admitted, "Nicole deduced that the reason for the disruption wasn't caused by normal means, no. She theorizes that will be here any second."

The king nodded as he stroked his whiskers as he found himself deep in thought, his mind working to figure out the reason behind the Chaos Disruption. Was it friend, or foe?

Was it a Robotnik, or a Sonic? Or something else entirely?

"With your permission, my king." Geoffrey spoke once more, "I wish to put all of Foxotropolis on high alert so that we're not taken off guard by any attack."

"Granted." this Tails replied, "Now, do you need anything else?"

"Yes." Geoffrey quickly answered, "Both Nicole and FoxEye believes it found the new location of your old compatriots that have yet to accept your rule. We believe they're squatting within the jun-."

Geoffrey's attempt to pass along the news was short lived as a ball of blue energy appeared out of thin air above him, a damaged machine from a different universe materializing above him. The poor skunk had no time to react as he was crushed underneath its weight, like a pancake. His blood sprayed from whatever was not crushed as it made a stain on the carpet, the black and red hedgehog who made no reaction, and the king fox as he stood up from his throne.

"So, **this** is the disruption." this Tails snarled.

As the dust settled, they could hear coughing coming from the wreckage of the Beetle. And moments later they see a pair of familiar namesakes, a two tailed fox stepping away from it as he regained his sense of gravity.

 **It was another Tails.**

"Well, that was certainly something." Tails spoke, shaking the grime off. "Now, where was I..?"

Tails looked around the room as he found knights, different colored banners, and another Tails that looked like he was ready to snap at any moment.

"Wait, I'm over there..?" Tails asked as he looked around the room, "And why does it feel like I'm stepping in- oh no."

Tails looked down to see that the bottom of his shoes were covered in the blood of the now deceased Geoffrey.

"Oh boy." Was Tails' only response.

 **"Get him!"** commanded the other Tails.

The outburst was enough to give the Prime kitsune a jump, and a face that could only be summarized as "oh crap". He quickly made his way on top of the damaged Beetle, getting out of the range of the Knights as they drew their weapons, their swords having little to no chance of hitting him. He eyed across the room to see the other Tails, staring him down as his eyes filled with bloodlust.

"This is all just a misunderstanding!" the Prime Tails pleaded.

 **"The time for negotiation is over, fox."** Was the other Tails' only reply.

The Prime Tails made walked along the top of the Beetle, avoiding being hit with the best of his abilities. The kitsune made his way to the driver side, hoping that Robotnik didn't rip the controls as he ejected. Sure enough, the driver seat used to control the Beetle was still intact, minus the scuffs and dings it might have gotten from Sonic.

"This is a nice reception you gave me," Tails spoke, "But I don't plan on staying in!"

Tails jumped down into the driver's seat as he found what he thought was the petal and floored it, the Beetle charging forward as the blood from Geoffrey's body began to splatter everywhere. The Tails of this Mobius and his right hand man barely had time to get out of the way before the wall was smashed, the Beetle going straight through.

"I hope you have insurance!" Tails joked, yanking on the wheel.

The Beetle turned around, acting like an aerodynamic brick as it smashed through another wall. Unfortunately, Geoffrey was going to have a closed casket funeral as Tails ran him over as he smashed through the giant doors, revealing Mobotropolis in all of its glory.

Or, what should have been Mobius. Everything felt off as the kitsune drove the beetle through the streets, avoiding running anyone else over, though he could not say the same for any shops or anything else on the ground as he drove. He didn't take his eye off the road for long, however he saw something different from both the Mobotropolis and Robotropolis that he knew. It was bright, seemingly enough, yet it felt strange. The amount of technology hung from the buildings, the street signs, even some of the more mundane things such as lights were a spectacle to the eye. On an electronic billboard, he saw the words "Welcome to Foxotropolis: Enjoy your Stay".

"Foxotropolis..?" Tails spoke the word, "There is something definitely wrong with this world. But I need to get back to Knothole. I sure hope everyone is alright…"

Tails cut a corner as he swiped a blockade, pulling left as the Beetle kept doing its job. The kitsune navigated the maze of blockades that barred his way, even using the full momentum to smash through a few. The kitsune began to sigh in relief as he saw the exit steadily approaching.

 _"Home stretch, come on, just a little bit further."_ Tails thought to himself, a smile growing on his face.

As he thought that, the Beetle made some rather bad sounding noises as it caught fire.

"Not now!" Tails pleaded.

The Beetle, despite its effectiveness thus far, could no longer continue the journey as it grinded to a halt. The kitsune had no choice but to abandon the damaged machine, racking his mind as he looked around. And as he did, his new method of escaping this bright utopia finally came.

 **A mobianhole cover!**

Wasting no time in getting it open, the kitsune dashed over as he began prying on it, using all of his strength to pull the cover off. He quickly looked back as he saw his counterpart, and his right hand hedgehog, walking towards him with what looked like every single man and woman that could wear a suit of knight's armor striding towards him.

It was now or never, and Tails took his chances as he quickly made his way down the hole, closing it up behind him. The other Tails walked up to the mobianhole, his eyes staring hard enough to cut steel if they could.

"How annoying." Spoke the fox king.

The ruling kitsune sighed out of annoyance as he turned to his shadow.

"Find him, and bring him back to me. Dead if you have to." Ordered the fox.

The kitsune's shadow merely nodded as he turned away, dashing off. The kingly kitsune popped his knuckles at he turned back to the knights that accompanied him.

"I want this entire city under lock and key." Ordered the other Tails, "Nobody enters or leaves, this place is now locked tighter than Devil's Gulag."

The knights quickly scattered as they heard their new orders, quickly leaving the fox king. The kitsune stood there for a moment as he eyed the now broken down and useless Beetle.

 **"What an abomination."** Hissed the fox king.

The king turned on his heels as he left, for he had better things to do.

The Freedom Fighters, however annoying, could wait, but this new arrival could not.

* * *

 **Rest in peace Geoffrey St. John, you'll probably not be missed. Anyways, thank you for reading, and I hope that you are still enjoying yourselves. I was able to write this in whatever little free time I had. I hope you enjoy it. Have a good day/afternoon/evening/night**.

 **Before I forget, I apologize in advance as this chapter was re-edited on mobile after getting it back from an editor anew friend of mine. Some things might not look right.**


	3. Knee Deep in the Sewage

**Hello all, and welcome back. Here our journey begins properly.**

* * *

Chapter Three: Knee Deep in the Sewage

While it might've seemed like a pretty good idea at the time, Tails was regretting ever going down the mobianhole as the stench of who knows what filled his nostrils, causing sneezing fits. He tried to find something that could cover his nose, but it was no use, the service corridors of Foxotropolis' sewers were squeaky clean, and it annoyed him to no end. His time in the maintenance corridors felt like hours, and the fact that all of them looked entirely the same did not help matters as he grew increasingly frustrated at his situation.

" _Well, it looks better than what passes for a sewer in Robuttniktropolis."_ Tails noted, _"Just how long do these sewers go on for?"_

To distract himself from the stench that assaulted his nostrils to no end, he began distracting himself with technological stuff, listing off the pieces of the Tornado, hypothesizing the applications of the Chaos Emerald, even theorizing how this world came to be the way it is and how things must've slipped to end up in such a state.

"Hey Lenny, you hear about that new show on Mobius Station?"

Tails' ears perked up at the sound of voices of what sounded like a Lenny and someone else talking. He followed the voices to the source and he found himself in the central sewer area as he found Mobians on lunch break, the popping sound of lunchboxes opening was more than enough as he eyed them, the shadows doing a good enough job in shielding him from any eyes. He listened closely as they talked about some new show on Mobius Station, though whatever that could be completely escaped him.

"Watch out boys, our favorite fox is on deck!" One of the Mobians exclaimed.

The kitsune kept watching from the sidelines, moving about as he tried to see what the new commotion. The Mobian workers on break all stared in the direction of something as a familiar fox in the same knights armor came into view, however it looked different as well, as if it wasn't held to the same design that the knights in the castle wore. Underneath the armor specs a form fitting bodysuit of orange and white covered parts of the body, and a pistol belt hung around her waist as he saw a laser pistol, refined and as sleek as the armor she wore. Unlike the other knights, she didn't bother with a helmet, letting her hair flow freely.

" _Oh no."_ Tails groaned

"Well, if it isn't Fiona Fox in the flesh!" One of the workers exclaimed, "What brings a guard from the Devils Gulag all the way out to greet us?"

"Well, it's certainly not for your refined hospitality and your treatment of a lady." Fiona snarked, "I'm on the job, and I have a terrorist to look for. Have you seen a two tailed fox lurking about?"

"Maybe we have, maybe we haven't." One of the other workers answered, "How about you give us a little incentive and we'll tell you what we know?"

"I broke your arm the last time you tried that, Ken." Fiona reminded.

At seemingly the worst possible moment, the kitsune could no longer hold back his sneezing at he let loose one loud enough to make the entire place echo, and possibly wake the dead if it was any louder. He quickly saw the heads of everyone in the central area snap in his direction. His eyes go wide in fear as he back away.

" _Nice going, Tails."_ Tails complained mentally to himself, _"You had one job and you messed that up."_

Fiona draws her laser pistol as she checks it over, turning her attention back to the working Mobians.

"You know the drill, find an emergency room to hide in." Fiona ordered.

None of the Mobians complained as they grabbed their lunchboxes and left the central area as soon as possible. The kitsune was racking his brain for anything he could do at this point, but it was hopeless. He couldn't go back the way he came or he would no doubt be swarmed, and he couldn't go forward or he would have to face Fiona's persecution.

Sighing in defeat, Tails raised his hands in defeat as he stepped out from the shadows, hands above his head and namesakes as limp as he could be. As he came out into the light, he eyed Fiona right across from him on the corridor balcony, gun leveled right at him.

And then… **nothing**. They stared at each other for the longest time, neither one of them making a move. It was as if they were frozen in time. Eventually, Fiona put her gun away, back into her holster.

"So…" Fiona began, "You're the one that dropped the Beetle on Geoffrey."

"Can I plead my case and say I had no idea he was right there?" Tails replied.

The only response for the kitsune was a sudden burst of laughter coming from the vixen, doing her best to keep her composure. This, of course, unnerved Tails to no end.

"Do you know long I've plotted to keep that skunk bastard off my back?" Fiona asked, "I've made numerous schemes to poison his food, slip a nanomine in his shoes, and everything in between. Yet here you come out of thin air and drop a brick on the skunk, it's just… I would kiss you right now, if you didn't look like you were about to jump out of your fur."

"Please don't." Tails pleaded. "I don't have good experiences or memories with girls."

The vixen caught on rather quickly as he nodded, doing everything in her ability to come off as non-threatening as possible. In response, the kitsune felt safe enough to lower his hands, his namesakes moving a little.

"Sorry about that," Fiona apologized, "Let me be the first friendly face to welcome you to Mobius 46, our little slice of paradise."

"You call this a paradise?" Tails questioned, "I just got chased by a different version of me and his knights."

"Yeah, things have gotten bad around here." Fiona admitted, "Sure, we're arguably the safest thing in the known multiverse, but... we had to do a _lot_ of bad things to get to this point. Ever held onto something that would hurt you in the end?"

Tails didn't answer the question, but he nodded in silent response. There was a silence between the vixen and the kitsune, as they both, in one way or another, understood each other.

"Look." Fiona spoke, "I'm all for exploring the past, but Sally wanted me to get you out of here."

"Sally's looking for me?" Tails spoke, his namesakes moving like crazy, "How did she-?"

"You made a large noise at the castle." Fiona answered, "Anyone that thinks that won't go unnoticed is crazy, or deaf, and I've never met a deaf Mobian before. Stubborn ones, but not deaf ones."

"So, you're going to take me there?"

"Not quite." Fiona admitted, sighing, "I have to keep up appearances, make sure nobody gets suspicious of what I really do. I can point you the way to Knothole at the least, that is where you're needing to go, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Tails answered, trying to keep himself calm, "I would like to sleep in my own hut again!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down before you hurt yourself." Fiona replied, smiling at the foxes enthusiasm, "I can show you the way, they've yet to patch up the old tunnels."

Tails only had to nod his head in agreement as Fiona led the way, finding himself perplexed as the Fiona he sees is seemingly the polar opposite of the one he knows.

Perhaps there were perks to unwanted dimensional hopping after all.

* * *

 _What seemed like hours later…_

After navigating the labyrinth of corridors and sewer pipes, they finally came to an old tunnel rusted in red. Old Freedom Fighter symbols of the past were etched on the exit, and who knows what symbols were etched in the tunnel itself.

"Here we are, final stop." Fiona spoke, "About a mile from here you'll get to a submerged room, about knee deep for you. There should still be a ladder you can use to climb to the surface. Walk about three miles east and you'll have your Knothole."

Tails made a mental effort to remember it all as best as he could.

"So, this is goodbye for now, huh?" Tails asked.

"I wouldn't worry too much about me." Fiona assured, "Nobody would suspect the king's most loyal subject of being a traitor. You just be careful, okay?"

"I will, thanks."

They both exchanged a hug with one another before breaking it off. Fiona took her pistol belt off from around her waist as he crouched down and wrapped it around the kitsunes waist.

"I hope you won't need it, but take it anyway." Fiona spoke.

"You sure?" Tails asked, "I never used one of these before."

"Positive." Fiona assured, "And if anyone asks I'll just say I lost it during a routine search. Now get going, will you?"

Tails didn't have to be asked twice as he climbed into the tunnel. They exchanged their final goodbyes as the kitsune made the last leg of the journey by himself. Fiona took her leave as she had her own matters to attend to.

* * *

If the kitsune wasn't feeling it by then, he was certainly tired now. The countless time wasted on the countless pipes and corridors has finally beaten him down, making him feel sluggish as he walked. Eventually he managed to make his way to the submerged room Fiona was describing, jumping down as he found himself to be knee deep in sewage water.

"Great." Tails groaned, "Now, time to find that ladder."

The kitsune began to scan around the room, the room being lit enough to have good vision all things considered. He trudged his way through the water, taking it slow as he was already tired. The room itself was a bit larger than he thought, at least fifty feet to eighty feet. He climbed up on a platform on the far side of the room, shaking his feet and his tails free of any excess water.

 **He failed to notice the shadow on the platform above him.**

He looked up, barely having time to move away as a black and red hedgehog, clad in knights' armor nearly skewered him. The figure swiped upward, the pike cutting one of the kitsunes eyes, leaving a nasty scar across it as he reeled back in pain. He grabbed at it as some blood trickled down.

"My eye!" Tails shrieked.

The kitsunes only response was being smacked by the blunt end of the pike, sending him into the sewer water. He quickly resurfaced, breathing as he searched around for the laser pistol that was given to him. He grabbed it and pointed it right at the king's Shadow.

"St-stay back!" Tails stammered, "I'm just looking for a way home!"

"You killed the one of the Kings subjects." Shadow responded, "For this, the king has charged you with murder and has sentenced you with life in prison, or death, depending how this goes."

"But why?" Tails pleaded, "My only crime is jumping dimensions!"

There was a moment of silence from the hedgehog.

"…I'm sorry, but the King does not take alternatives." Shadow replied, "Defend yourself from me if you wish to live."

The hedgehog jumped into the knee deep water, both hands on his pike as he maneuvered around like a pro. Tails had his finger on the trigger as he shot away, doing a good job at staggering the hedgehog, though it didn't look like it was doing much damage in the long run. He could no longer take things slow as he was using his tails to propel him around in the water, trying to think of ways to end this fight before he could get any more cuts. He kept dodging, hoping for a break, or a pattern in the attack.

 **And that's when he figured it out.**

The Shadow in front of him kept attacking for the head, trying to impale his fox brain against the wall. His fox mind went to work, calculating every angle that he needed. With the next stab and a bit of finesse, the kitsune ducked into the water as he spun his namesakes, spinning hard enough to tip up the hedgehog. He wasted no time grabbing the pike as he wielded in both hands, one eye closed as he jabbed the spear into an exposed part of Shadow's armor, piercing him as he grunted out in pain, pinned to the ground as specks of crimson came. Tails felt a bit disgusted in what he did, but he had no choice.

"I'm sorry Shadow," Tails apologized, breaking the pike in half with his namesakes, "But I'm just trying to get home."

The black hedgehog said nothing as the kitsune backed away, taking a breath as he climbed back up on the platform, looking upwards with his one open eye to see the exit from this maze of pipes.

 **And then red lights came on and an alarm rang out.**

Water began to pour into the room, the hedgehog looking frantically around as he was spotted, just barely above the water.

"Wait!" Shadow pleaded, "Please, don't leave me like this. I don't want to die like this."

"You just tried to kill me." Tails replied, "How do I know you don't do it again?"

"Please, I'm begging you." Shadow answered, the water level beginning to rise, "I'll tell the king you died when a rush of water came in and dismembered your body."

The water level was gradually rising, soon enough it would envelop around the hedgehog. The water began to pour in faster.

 **The time to make a decision was now.**

In a sigh of annoyance, the kitsune dived back into the water, grabbing around the hedgehog. His namesakes became a propeller as he forced his way back over to the ladder. He let the water do the work as they floated closer to the manhole. With what little strength he has left, the kitsune held onto the hedgehog as he pulled him to the surface. The afternoon sun shining down on them as the kitsune dragged him to safety onto safe ground.

" _Finally, the surface."_ Tails thought to himself, "Hey, are you alright..?"

The kitsune looked over at his attacker as the hedgehog was passed out. From the looks of it he would be fine. Tails took whatever he could find useful as he started walking, a noticeable look of weariness in his step.

All that mattered was getting to Knothole now.

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading as usual. Depending on how well this goes, I might have something special planned. Have a nice day/afternoon/evening/night.**


	4. Homecoming and Reflections I

**Hello all, and welcome back. This time around we're gonna take things slow. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Four: Homecoming and Reflections I

Tails was suffering right now. He was drenched in sewer water, shivering from the winds cutting him, his eye got slashed not long ago, and now his entire body was refusing to work with him. He kept himself going forward by singing old nursery rhymes, as he exhausted the ability to name off various mechanical algorithms and definitions long ago. The sole idea of getting to Knothole was the only thing in his mind now, as he knew that's where he would be safest.

The pieces of pike that he carried were more than enough to start a fire if he needed to keep himself warm, or to hunt if he began to starve, though he desperately hoped that he could avoid doing that. He continued to move forward, his legs feeling like cinderblocks. As he began to recite one of the rhymes he knew, he saw something in the distance in what looked like a gathering of huts.

 **He found Knothole.**

The kitsune could barely contain his excitement as he pushed himself faster through the Great Forest, his namesakes daring to spin and carry him forward as he jogged. He broke the forest clearing as he came into sight of the sentries patrolling around. They seemed rather surprised for a moment, to see what they thought was the King Kitsune that was out for their blood to come running up to the gates. The sentries began to aim whatever weapons they had in their possession at him, only to be stopped by someone running up, a familiar face.

 **It was Sally.**

The chipmunk princess came to his rescue, saving him the agony of the makeshift firing squad ahead of him.

"Wait, don't shoot!" Sally protested, stopping them in their tracks, "This is the fox that's been all over the news."

The kitsune said nothing, but there was a sense of security that he felt, something that felt incredibly distant.

The sentries stood down as they left, leaving the two in peace. The Sally in front of kitsune looked almost identical to the one that he knew, though the difference between the two was that the one before him looked older, though the kitsune couldn't place his finger on it.

"Phew, the sewer did its magic, huh?" Sally asked, "And what happened to your eye?"

"Oh, there were… some complications." Tails admitted.

The chipmunk princess looked rather annoyed, the hero of the day being injured and stinking. Sally came forward and grabbed his hand, leading him into Knothole.

"Let's get you washed up and looked at." Sally insisted.

* * *

 _Sometime later…_

It wasn't long afterwards that Tails was set up in his predecessors hut, various gadgets and other assorted items scattered about. A good amount of dust has gathered about the hut, coating just about everything. There was a desk set up as well, long enough to go alongside the far wall of the hut. There he found a prototype of T-Pup that was never finished, possibly due to whatever events happened outside of the King Kitsune's control. There was a computer sitting on the desk as well, cobbled together from what various pieces could be found.

As for the kitsune Prime, he was already in a bath, soaking as he felt sleep come on him. His eye was bandaged up as he was in the hands of no other than Doctor Quack himself. The good doctor explained that the damage looked worse than it actually was, and that he would be fine as long as he or anything else didn't mess with it. His afflicted eye and part of his head was bandaged up, allowing it to heal properly.

As the kitsune laid in the bathtub, surrounded by bubbles of his own creation, he slowly, but surely, drifted off into sleep as the heat of the water soothed his bones and muscles.

* * *

 _In the confines of Tails' mind…_

Sleep came rather easy to the fox, as the events of today had beaten him down and made him feel ragged. As for the kitsune himself, he found himself in a library, a creation of his own mind. He was alone in this place of his design, save for the memories that seeped through the books and made themselves known if he wished it.

Tails sat himself down in a chair, another one of these "books" being added to his library as he replayed the events of today over in his head. The most notable ones came to the forefront as his mind drifted to Robotnik's Eraser Beetle, and how difficult and terrifying it was to face off against what seemed so simplistic in design, yet was actually capable of erasing someone and something from the face of Mobius.

He thought on, moving to this Mobius' counterpart. The kitsune couldn't wrap his mind around it at the moment, as everything was so vastly different. What happened to Robotnik, to Sonic? Did either of the two even exist in this reality? His mind constantly pondered the thought as he remembered what became of Geoffrey, and the damage he caused to the castle on the way out. While he wouldn't admit it outright or even tell about it in a positive light, there was something about it that gave a much needed rush of adrenaline.

The kitsunes mind drifted onwards to the sewers, and how he would meet this world's Fiona. He admitted that seeing something so familiar, yet so different at the same time, provoked his interest, something that he wished he had before. Even though he felt like he was falling for the same old trap again, he expressed a desire, a want to know more about this girl.

Or maybe that was just puberty talking, he wasn't too sure.

His mind wandered on to the final events of the day, to Shadow ambushing him in the sewers, to dragging himself all the way to Knothole. His entire experience so far has been very bizarre, and not to mention maddening. Just about everything he knew about his own Mobius was slowly, but surely, proving to be the antithesis of this one.

He closed the book, pushing it away as he stood up from the table.

* * *

 _Reality…_

The kitsune woke up from his bathtub sleeping as he found the water around him cold now, the bubbles long gone. He slowly pulled his way up and onto his feet as his body still felt sore, though not from exhaustion anymore. A headache formed as water dripped down from his body and back into the tub, his movements feeling sluggish as he went to drain the water.

Tails knew what he was experiencing, he knew it was puberty working its magic on him. But he was trying to understand, what he was feeling shouldn't be until he was in at least his mid to late teens.

 **Why was it happening now?**

Feeling rather frustrated, the kitsune decided to take another trip to Quack's office to get this figured out.

* * *

The kitsune was sitting out in his patient room, his foot bouncing as he waited on the results. For some reason he was starting to feel impatient, and it wouldn't be long until he was pacing his room just for some measure of peace. Tails tried to chalk it up to just puberty, but that was a flimsy argument at best.

He heard the door open as an older duck stepped in, his ears perking up as he tilted his head upwards. He had an eyepatch over his left eye, a cane in his hand, and wearing his green turtleneck and doctor's jacket like usual, though this time it was closed up, buttoned to his neck. He had a clipboard tucked under his arm.

"Back already?" Quack joked.

"Very funny." Tails replied, "So, the results?"

"Oh, yes!" Quack cleared his throat as he got the clipboard out, "Well, in all my years of practicing medicine. I have never seen this kind of condition before. Well, puberty yes, but having it all hit you at once no."

"All at once?" Tails asked.

"Yes, I can't quite understand it." Quack admitted, "I'm not up to date on my technological knowledge, but it seems as though the encounter with the Beetle from your Mobius is causing your body to undergo changes at a faster rate. I theorize that you'll at least will grow a few inches, your voice will drop a little, and last, but not least, your hormones will go insane."

The kitsune groaned at the new developments. At least he knew what he was dealing with now.

"Do you know how long this is supposed to go on for?" Tails asked.

"I can't be certain." Quack answered, "Your puberty will most likely stop at the halfway mark and progress naturally from there, or it'll take you all the way into your adult years. Either way, you won't be staying young for much longer."

The kitsune groaned once more, as he certainly wasn't enjoying himself.

"Anything I should be doing?" Tails asked.

"Yes, you can start by investing into some shorts." Quack answered, "You might also want to consider some workouts, too. Just in case the rapid puberty does nothing for your muscles. As for your hormones, well, I can't do anything about that. The best thing I can do for you is to bury yourself in work if you don't like the idea of soiling your hands."

Tails actually blushed at the last statement, though his fur hid it well, groaning for a third time in a row.

"Well, thanks doc." Tails sighed, standing off his chair.

"It's what I'm here for," Quack replied, staying humble. "I wouldn't worry too much on it though, you have bigger things on the horizon."

The kitsune nodded as he took his leave, stepping out of the clinic as he went back to his hut. While the news were rather bad, he at least felt better since he knew what the was dealing with.

Now, all that's left, and now on his list of things to do, is to find some shorts.

* * *

 **I do love a good case of Chekhov's Gun. Well, there you have it, puberty is now happening like mad and being Tails is exhausting.**

 **Have a good day/afternoon/evening/night.**


	5. Sweet and Sorrow

**Hello all, and welcome back. I decided to take a small break from writing, but now I'm back and ready to give unto you another chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Five: Sweet and Sorrow

 _The next day…_

Tails was keeping himself busy in this new place of residence as he spent a good portion of the day cleaning up the hut. The kitsune found all sorts of junk that littered the floor, from mint candy wrappers, to assorted cogs and screws, to old editions of "Tinkerers Monthly". The kitsune recognized the magazine brand as something that was more for those that had no prior knowledge of machines, and wanted to change that. Though he was curious as to what his counterpart kept the magazines for, he put them up on the table, next to the salvaged computer as they could be useful later.

Speaking of the computer, the kitsune had messed with it, trying to probe it for the secrets it might contain, any insight to be gained, only to be stopped by a password and username. The fox groaned as he tried every possible combination he could think of, but was no use. Whatever the King Kitsune wanted to hide, it was certainly not going to be taken easily.

The Prime sighed, both out of annoyance, and due to his current battle of hormones slowly knocking holes in his head. He rubbed his face, trying to keep his attention. He thought to himself, trying to figure out if there was anything left for him to use. In one more stroke of brilliance, he brought himself down to the keyboard as he tried once more.

 _Username: M"T"Prower_

 _Password: 10161992_

Success! The protection screen gave way as he was greeted to the sight of numerous files, folders, all of it littering the desktop. Tails began to feel like he was in a mint candy factory and the foreman stepped away for a break, but decided not to get too far ahead of himself as he sought to disable password protection, making it easier for him to get in and out without having to remember the details.

As he finished in configuring the computer and making it his own, he could hear a knocking at his door.

"Come in!" Tails called out.

The door came open to none other than the 46th incarnation of Fiona Fox herself, clothed in the yellow and white leotard like the Fiona of his Mobius used to wear, however the colors were reversed. The rest of the outfit remained the same, though it didn't stop the kitsune from looking at her with his one good eye, breaking himself away. The vixen strode into the hut as she closed the door behind her with one hand, while carrying a plastic bag in the other.

"Oh, Fiona!" Tails exclaimed, "I didn't know you were coming today."

"I tend to surprise people that way," Fiona replied as she looked about the hut, "Say, I like what you did with the place. It certainly brings out that welcome home feeling."

"Well, thanks." Tails replied back, a smile creeping on his face.

"So, what happened to your eye?" Fiona asked.

"Oh, Shadow ambushed me in the sewers." Tails explained, "He was trying to lodge a pike through my head. I, uh… rammed him through with it."

"Ouch." Fiona commented, "I remember Sally saying something about you dragging him out of the submerged room when it was filling up."

"Yeah, that's true." Tails commented, "I didn't feel comfortable in letting him drown, despite him trying to kill me… I'm not in trouble for it, am I?"

With his one good eye, the kitsune looked over at the vixen, expecting something that his Fiona would do. Instead, he looked to only find a warm smile on her face as she leaned against the hut wall.

"No, not at all." Fiona assured, "Pragmatism and your merciful nature is going to get us further in this dirty job than knocking factories offline."

Tails couldn't help but smile back, a blush coming across his face.

"Thanks." Tails murmured, "So, what's up with the bag?"

"Oh, Sally asked to bring some shorts for you." Fiona answered, "Something along the lines of "doctors' orders", didn't feel like going further than that. I even went ahead and bought a belt so it can stay up on your waist."

"You didn't have to do that much for me." Tails replied.

"Nonsense," Fiona assured, "You scratched my back with Geoffrey, and I'll scratch your back with whatever you need."

"Well, if you insist." Tails murmured, "Can I ask what happened for things to get to this point?"

"Oh, Sally never told you?" Fiona replied, "Well, now's a better time than any."

Fiona sighed as she walked over to the kitsunes bed, laying down on it as she looked up at the hut celling.

"Boy, where to even begin?" Fiona asked herself.

* * *

 _Flashback…_

Sorrow was the perfect word to describe the mood of Knothole. Moments ago, they lost Sonic the Hedgehog, the greatest hero to ever stand up to Robotnik's tyranny. The only thing left of the blue blur was the quills on the back of his head, the rest disintegrated to nothing.

With the fastest thing alive now gone, and the distraction ultimately worthless, the Freedom Fighters of Knothole were effectively on the decline, morale plummeting to unthinkable depths. Silence fell on the whole village, some were unable to process the news, and some held tears back.

Some simply lost the words to speak.

The 46th Tails watched as they dug a hole for a box filled with Sonic's remains, a makeshift grave made for his best friend and brother. The fox couldn't bring himself to say anything, or even feel anything. The shock of it all was the only thing he knew at the present.

Joining him were Sally, Fiona, and the other Freedom Fighters. They were all in mourning much like him, yet they could express their frustration and sadness.

They watched as the coffin of Mobius' greatest hero was lowered down gently, the burial crew grabbed their shovels as they began to fill the gravesite.

After all was said and done, the Freedom Fighters slowly took their leave, one after the other.

In the end, all that stood there was the tragedy stricken kitsune and Fiona.

The vixen wanted to say something desperately, anything that could alleviate the pain that her Tails was going through.

But what could be said? What could be done?

In the end, she eventually left him too. Leaving him to mourn by himself.

* * *

 _Reality…_

The prime kitsune was taken rather aback, and how the news of this Sonic's death managed to affect everyone. He didn't say anything as the vixen sighed once more, sitting up on his bed.

"Well, there you have it." Fiona finished, "We had two black eyes and one bloody nose over the span of a day."

"Sounds worse than that." Tails replied, "Thanks for telling me despite it."

"Oh, it's nothing." Fiona assured, "We can't have you fighting with us if you don't have the facts."

They could hear a beeping noise as Fiona looked at her wrist, messing with her watch and stopping the sound.

"Well, back to work." Fiona stated, rising up. "Grab your shorts and your belt and join me when you can, we're putting you into service."

"Already?" Tails asked.

"We need all the hands we can get." Fiona answered.

Fiona took her leave of the kitsunes hut, leaving him with the bag of clothes.

* * *

 _A few minutes later…_

Tails was making his way through the limestone caverns that ran underneath Knothole, following the signs to freedom HQ. He found that the caverns underneath were less populated these days, compared to his Knothole. Whereas they housed thousands from his dimension, there was only a handful of souls that stood against the King Kitsune. While he had no good answer, he chalked it up to simply being tired of fighting and wanting a normal life.

He didn't think too much on it as he went further into the caves. His new shorts were brown cargo, plenty of pockets to use as he saw fit. The new belt was black leather, big enough to go around his waist at least twice. He punched a hole in using the equipment in his predecessors hut so he could fit it without issue.

He was right outside of Freedom HQ, an old mining checkpoint that went deeper into the tunnels. The kitsune remembered faintly from Sally's teaching that the caves under Knothole used to be a large mining operation long ago, though how long escaped them.

With a sigh and a moment of anticipation, he pushed open the door and walked into the life of a Freedom Fighter once more.

* * *

 **I admit, this one was a bit tough to write, though I thank you all the same for reading. Next chapter we'll be going right back to the action. Have a nice day/afternoon/evening/night.**


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